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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26321356">Lambs to the slaughter</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation'>Multifandom_damnation</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Order (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Gore, Canonical Character Death, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Missing Scene, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Post-Season/Series 02, Team as Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:55:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,886</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26321356</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The last thing Hamish expected to see when he turned the corner to Vera's office was Jack on his knees with his back to Hamish, Vera just outside the threshold to her office with her hands over her mouth with a look of pure terror in her eyes, and Alyssa, lying in Jack's arms, a deep gash in her chest, her eyes open and unseeing, her warm blood seeping from her limp body and into the tiles, soaking into Jack's jeans and matted in her blonde hair.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lilith Bathory &amp; Randall Carpio &amp; Hamish Duke &amp; Jack Morton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lambs to the slaughter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Why didn't anyone tell me that there was a Comicon at home pannel for the Order??? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRt8jbRQDbE</p>
<p>Also, I don't know why I wrote this, but I really enjoy writing the order, and I guess I just missed it and was willing to use any excuse I could.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The last thing Hamish expected to see when he turned the corner to Vera's office was Jack on his knees with his back to Hamish, Vera just outside the threshold to her office with her hands over her mouth with a look of pure terror in her eyes, and Alyssa, lying in Jack's arms, a deep gash in her chest, her eyes open and unseeing, her warm blood seeping from her limp body and into the tiles, soaking into Jack's jeans and matted in her blonde hair.</p>
<p>Dumbfounded, he looked to Vera, hoping that she would provide him with some sort of an answer, but it became obvious that she wasn't going to help him. She looked more frightened than Hamish had ever seen her, and he has seen her afraid as of late. A thick layer of panic seemed to permeate the entire room, and the longer Hamish stood there, the more he began to feel it too. "Vera," Jack was saying, voice thick and shaking and filled with a terror Hamish had never heard from him before. "Vera, do something."</p>
<p>"I can't," Vera replied. It must have been serious. Usually, if anybody else demanded that she do something for them like that, they would have been punished for insubordination. Not now, though. She just stood there, watching Jack with wide eyes as that puddle of blood beneath them began to spread further into the room. "I don't have my magic, and unless she gives it back..."</p>
<p>"But she's <em>dead</em>," Jack replied, sounding so hopeless and so scared as he held her limp, lifeless body in his arms, her head lolling in his hand, the end of her hair painted red. It was that word, so final and so vivid, said with certainty and anguish, that made Hamish feel sick to his stomach. The weight on his shoulders settled over him almost as heavy as the word itself. </p>
<p>Hamish reached a hand out to Vera, who surprisingly took it without hesitation. Suddenly, Jack snapped his head up so fast Hamish thought his neck would crack with the motion, and turned to face them, eyes both too bright and too dull, jaw clenched tight, despair written across his every feature. "Vera, the book!" He shouted, stretching his hand out towards them, blood coating his skin. "Give me the book!"</p>
<p>Immediately, Vera ran back inside the ritual chambers only to return seconds later, her heels clicking on the polished marble, a wild, frantic look on her face as she handed Jack the book, smearing blood all along the front of the leather-bound tome. She returned to Hamish's side and slid her hand back into his. Neither of them mentioned that she was shaking, or that Hamish might have been gripping her a little too tightly. </p>
<p>Wordlessly, Jack stood from his crouch on the floor with Alyssa lifted effortlessly in his arms, black veins sprouting around the back of his neck as her head lolled off his shoulder, and he subconsciously pulled it back to a more natural, comfortable position. Blood dripped from them to the floor, making ripples in the puddle. "What could you possibly need with the book?" Vera sounded unsure, doubtful.</p>
<p>"I don't know," Jack said, and as he made his way out from the hallway, slick with Alyssa's still-warm blood, Hamish believed him.</p>
<p>Eventually, when it was just the two of them and the chambers had fallen deathly silent, Hamish turned to Vera, tucking her tightly against his chest and brushing the tangled strands of her long hair away from her face. "What the hell happened here?" he asked without pulling away.</p>
<p>"It was a wolf," Vera's voice was quiet, but her words carried a burden that nearly knocked Hamish off his feet. He knew without a doubt that she meant what she said. "Not one that I've ever seen before, but there was no doubt about it. The damn thing walked in here and just tore her apart, picked her up off the floor and tossed her around like a ragdoll."</p>
<p>"A wolf. Like, one of ours?" Hamish asked. Vera nodded. "Well, it couldn't have been Lilith, and it wasn't the rest of us. Did you get Alpha's locker back from that rouge practitioner?"</p>
<p>"No, and we've made no headway on who inherited the hide," Vera said regretfully. "So I'm sure that we have no idea where it came from."</p>
<p>Silently, Hamish looked back to the puddle of blood, smeared across the tiles, glistening wet under the candlelit sconces on the walls. "Alright. Alright. This is fine. We'll figure this out. Where do you need me?"</p>
<p>He shouldn't have been surprised when she pulled away from him, but she didn't go far. "Need you? I don't need you here, Hamish. I appreciate your offer, but there's nothing you can do."</p>
<p>"But-"</p>
<p>"I understand that you're worried, but magic or no magic, I don't need your protection," she said, but even before the words had left her mouth, her face had softened and her eyes gleamed with something undeniable. She reached up, placing a cold hand lightly on Hamish's cheek, and he knew that it really must have been bad if she was risking being caught by another member of the Order to offer him comfort. "Besides, nobody knows about my magic yet. Nobody knows it's gone. I can keep up the pretence of being in charge, can pretend that everything's alright for a little while longer. And when I can't do it anymore, I'll call you. I promise. But right now, I think you're needed back with your pack. I think the Knights need you now more than I do. So you go and be with them, and help Jack and the others through whatever <em>this</em> is, and then you can come right back here to me. </p>
<p>Honestly, there was a great many things Hamish would rather do than leave her side, but he also knew that she was right. He was the leader of the Knights, after all. He needed to be with them instead of trying to take care of a woman who didn't need his protection. It also may have had something to do with the open, genuine expression on her face that urged him to choose the right decision. He inclined his head so he could place his lips against her crown and mumble into her hair. "Of course, Grand Magus."</p>
<p>He made his way through the campus, head down, shoulders hunched, hands in his pockets, as he ploughed through the many students just going about their business and the members of the faculty wanting him to stop and chat in a desperate need to get to the Knights Den as fast as he possibly could without eliciting any panic from onlookers. He tried not to look for Jack's bloodied footprints on the concrete. </p>
<p>When he arrived at the Den, he was almost surprised to find that he was alone. Randall was out, probably still busy burying Kepler's body, and he hadn't seen Gabrielle or Midnight all day. He should have known that Jack wouldn't have come back here, but a small part of him still hoped that he would go home instead of trying to fix it himself, but Jack never did think that far ahead. But, thankfully, he could hear conversation upstairs, Nicole's soft, gentle voice and Lillith's angry, gravelly one as they debated the reasoning behind sending Lilith back to the hells, and why they refused to let her go again. Lilith hadn't been the same since she returned earlier that day, and that was one of the many things that they would either have to get used to or die trying to fix.</p>
<p>Despite knowing that nobody would be home, he searched the house anyway, ducking through open doorways and knocking on the closed ones before he pushed his way inside for a quick once over. He stayed clear of Lillith's room, the door shut tight. Satisfied that he had done all he could, for now, Hamish retreated to the bar, and quietly began to mix himself a drink to calm his jittering nerves.</p>
<p>The front door opened as he was preparing his second drink and he put all the bottles down on the counter and turned the corner just in time to see Randall stumble up the stairs, his arms full of what he could only assume was Gabrielle if those perfectly curled brown locks over his shoulder were any indication, and Hamish watched, confused, as Randall heaved them up the stairs. There was something in Randall's posture that told Hamish that he probably shouldn't be shouting after him for an explanation, so he just sat there and waited for Randall to return, occupying himself with his second drink.</p>
<p>Eventually, Randall returned, wiping his hands together and grinning at Hamish with tired eyes. "Whew," he laughed. "Big day, huh?"</p>
<p>"You don't even know the half of it," Hamish sighed. "Drink?"</p>
<p>"Oh, yes, please. I thought you'd never ask," Randall followed Hamish into the other room and sat on the other side of the bar, arms folded on the counter and his face rested in the rest of his elbow. He waited patiently as Hamish artfully made him a drink, and when the cool glass was slid towards him, he took it greedily, wrapping both his hand around it as he brought it to his lips. </p>
<p>Hamish looked out the window for a moment, hoping to see Jack's silhouette making its way through the trees. "So," he said. "Was that Gabrielle you were carrying inside? What happened?"</p>
<p>Pulling away from his drink, Randall pushed his lips at the sour note and licked the sugar away before he spoke. "To be honest, I don't actually know. I found her in the woods, and she was naked, so I gave her my jacket and brought her home. She was pretty bloodied up though and looked fairly shaken. If you ask me, she must have had her first hunt and didn't handle it very well. How about you?" he sipped at his drink again. "Why was your day so hectic?"</p>
<p>"Well, other than the fact that we just got Lilith back from hell and she's become a demon-thing that won't stop until she's returned to a terrible place that she now considers home?" Hamish asked rhetorically and Randall hummed in agreement. "Alyssa died."</p>
<p>Randall choked on his drink, spitting it back into his glass. Hamish cringed. "What the <em>fuck</em>?"</p>
<p>Humming, Hamish glanced back out the window again before returning his attention to Randall and the drink in his hand, the condensation cooling against his skin. "I wasn't actually there when it happened, but I was there for the aftermath," he said. "It was... horrific, really. There was blood absolutely everywhere, and Jack was sitting in it, holding her as she died. Vera couldn't do anything, and Alyssia died with her magic. We're not too sure how we're going to sort that out yet."</p>
<p>"Wait," Randall said, looking sick. "Where's Jack now?"</p>
<p>"No idea," Hamish answered. "He took off with her body and some sort of tome. I don't really know what it was for, but he seemed to think it was important. I don't know where he is, what he's doing or if he'll be back."</p>
<p>Slumping, Randall lowered his head, his shoulder's sagging. "Damn," he said. "How did it happen?"</p>
<p>"According to Vera?" Hamish said, and he kept his eyes on Randall to closely watch his reaction to the news. "It was a wolf. A Knight. One of ours."</p>
<p>Immediately, Randall reared back like he'd been slapped, blinking hard, looking like he'd just bitten into a sour lemon. Liquid spilled out over the lip of his glass and down the sides to the floor with the hasty movement, but for once Hamish didn't mind. They had much bigger things to deal with than a bit of spilled alcohol. "No. No way," Randall shook his head. "Impossible. I was burying Kepler in the woods, Lilith was here, you and Jack wouldn't have done it. I mean, none of us would have done it, but you two were in the room when it happened. It couldn't have been."</p>
<p>"I know," Hamish said. "And they haven't recovered Alpha's hide locker, so we have no idea if he's chosen another champion yet. But Vera knows what she saw, and she wouldn't lie to me. Especially not about something like this."</p>
<p>"I don't get it," Randall said, putting his drink down hard on the counter, licking the spilled alcohol off his fingers before it got sticky. "Alyssa was a magic practitioner, right? And she was killed by a Knight. So does that mean that Vera has he magic back? Because that was our plan all along- kill Alyssa, take her heart, get Vera back her magic so she could help us save Lilith. Why didn't it work? It always works."</p>
<p>Hamish shrugged. "No clue. There was a lot of blood, like, it was everywhere. Jack was sitting in a puddle of it. I couldn't see her, but I had assumed it had got her in the chest."</p>
<p>"I don't get it," Randall said. "So there's a rouge wolf now? A Knight has gone crazy and changed teams?"</p>
<p>"Maybe. There's only so much we know, even with our wolves knowledge," Hamish said. "We didn't know about Alpha. How many more wolves are out there that we don't know about?"</p>
<p>Randall was frowning deeply, eyebrows pulled together, eyes on the bar. "Hang on," he said, and there was something in his voice that made Hamish listen very intently, aware that this was going to be one of his rare sparks of pure genius. "Do you think that it's a coincidence that Alyssia was killed by a rogue wolf around the same time I found Gabrielle in the woods after her first hunt?"</p>
<p>It was as if the floor was falling out from under Hamish, opening like a gaping, toothy maw to the very same hells that they had resued Lilith from not long before, and he had to grip onto the edge of the bar with all he was worth to keep himself steady. "No," he shook his head. "No way, that's not possible. It can't be. Gabrielle-"</p>
<p>"I don't think she had a choice," Randall tried. "Jack had told us before that Midnight was using her to kill him. I don't really know what was going on with that because we haven't really had the time to talk about it, but if Midnight was controlling her against her will, and he wanted to hurt Jack but wasn't able to kill him..."</p>
<p>"He would take the thing that matters to him, or made him weak in the eyes of the wolves," Hamish finished, words clicking into place like a puzzle with an air of finality. A weight settled in his chest, heavy and painful. "<em>Fuck</em>."</p>
<p>It seemed like Randall had reached the same conclusion that Hamish had. "Poor Gabrielle. No wonder she was so shocked when I found her. She wouldn't even speak to me. I mean, I know everyone deals with their first kill differently, but I thought it was weird that she wouldn't even tell me what happened. What are we going to do?"</p>
<p>"Going to do about what?" came a voice from behind them, and they both turned to see Lilith standing in the hallway, just coming around the corner and into the rumpus room, voice stern but eyes surprisingly kind, looking uncomfortable in the space she used to call home but also stepping around the area and making herself a drink and settling in her place beside Randall and Hamish like a second skin.</p>
<p>"Where's Nicole?" Randall asked instead of answering the question.</p>
<p>Lilith waved an absent hand. "Upstairs, reading tomes about how to 'fix' me. Even though there's nothing to fix," she sipped at her drink, making a face at her first taste of alcohol in god knew how long, and it wasn't one of Hamish's signature cocktails. "Stop trying to change the subject. What kind of shit are in this time?"</p>
<p>Hamish had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing. It was so familiar, he could almost pretend like everything was alright and that nothing had happened and that she had never been taken by the hells. "I mean, it's not our usual kind of shit. You remember Alyssa?"</p>
<p>She frowned, head tilting to the side as she narrowed her eyes in thought. "Blonde? Jacks off-again-on-again girlfriend? Stuck up Order bitch? What about her?"</p>
<p>"Well," Hamish continued as he watched Randall hid his laugh behind his glass. "Her and Jack haven't been together for a while, not since she turned evil and tried to overthrow the Order and give magic to murderous wackos," Lilith choked on her drink a little. "She took Vera's magic to teach her a lesson."</p>
<p>"Wow," Lilith winched. "I always knew she was a bitch."</p>
<p>"Yeah, well, now she's dead," Randall said, maybe insensitively, but it wasn't as if any of them had been on good terms when she had died. If Jack were here, it would be a different story, but right now, they had bigger fish to fry than the feelings of a dead girl. "Midnight killed her."</p>
<p>A short, harsh laugh burst from Lilith before she could stop it, and she shook her head as if it was the funniest thing they had ever said. When they didn't reply, she glanced between them, mouth curling into a hard line. "Wait, you're not serious?"</p>
<p>"Surely you've felt him," Hamish said. Of course, she had. they had all felt Midnight when he awoke from his locker, the wolves that resided within their chests roaring in delight at being joined by their brother, their fellow Knight, and itching to reunite. </p>
<p>Her brows lowered over her dark eyes, the red marks on the side of her face stark in contrast to what they once knew. "I mean, Timber felt him rise, and we've had this unsettled feeling since he escaped his hide locker, but I haven't actually... seen him since I..."</p>
<p>She trailed off. That was OK. It was still pretty hard for them to talk about, Lilith especially. Randall cleared his throat to break the suddenly tense, uncomfortable silence. "He chose Gabrielle as his champion," at Lilith's shocked look, he nodded. "Yeah, I know. <em>That</em> Gabrielle."</p>
<p>"How's she handling it?" she asked suspiciously.</p>
<p>"Not well, considering Midnight is controlling her and forcing her to kill people," Hamish said as he downed the last of his drink and began to methodically began to prepare himself a new one. "He made her kill Alyssa."</p>
<p>"Did he tear out her heart? Because that should have given Vera back her magic."</p>
<p>"Not sure."</p>
<p>If it had been any other circumstance, the look on Lilith's face was would have been comical, and the boys would have taken a moment to laugh and mock her until she blushed deep pink and slapped at their hands to silence them. But now was not the time. There might honestly never be another time like that again. "<em>Shit</em>," she hissed. "Where's Jack? What did Gabrielle say about it?"</p>
<p>Nobody had the chance to answer as the front door opened with the force of a whirlwind, slamming against the wall behind it and slowly whining shut on the rusted hinges. They were immediately on guard, jumping at the sudden sound, and the wolves awoke from their peaceful slumber. Jack stood there, in the middle of the foyer, his front covered in dried blood, from his shirt to his pants to his socks, his hair caked with it, a wild, stressed look on his face as he began searching around the room for something, anything. He didn't have the book with him, and Hamish had to wonder what he had done with something so seemingly important. </p>
<p>"Jack?" Hamish demanded as he and the others ran around the corner to join Jack in the foyer.</p>
<p>"Yeah, hi," Jack ran a hand through his hair, hard and fast, dislodging a fee stray strands that fell across his eyes. He pushed them back impatiently, which explained why his hair was matted with blood. "I've got to-"</p>
<p>"Woah, dude, slow down," Randall said as he came closer, holding onto Jack's elbow to stop him from toppling over. Jack yanked his arm from his grip. Not unkindly, but definitely hard enough to make a point. "You look like shit. Are you alright?'</p>
<p>Jack waved him off and began making his way towards the stairs "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm not staying long. I've just got to get a change of clothes and then I'm heading back out again."</p>
<p>As they watched Jack shift from foot to foot, manoeuvering hastily around the foyer, his fellow Knights exchanged a silent yet no less worried glance. "Jack," Hamish tried. "Maybe you should sit down for a minute. You're covered in blood, and-"</p>
<p>"No, there's no time. And I'm here for a change of clothes, so the blood doesn't matter," Jack brushed him off. He sprinted up the stairs, two at a time, and disappeared behind the wall towards his room. A moment later, his door opened and shut behind him, and his heavy footsteps could be heard rushing back and forth.</p>
<p>They sat there in silence for a moment. Even Lilith, who was still trying to re-acquaint herself with the home she once knew and the people she once called family. stood there in stunned silence. Randall looked like he was a few moments away from slamming his head against a wall. Hamish himself felt like the slow was slowly cracking under his feet, fracturing into tiny pieces and he was spirling on a downward trajectory to crash-land somewhere dark and abysmal. "Well," Randall broke the silence. "This is pretty fucking bad, isn't it?"</p>
<p>Nobody answered him, but they didn't have to.</p>
<p>Together they sat there in silence as they waited for Jack to return, wearing a new set of clothes and hastily shoving things into an overnight bag, his hair still dishevelled and slicked with flaking, dried blood. He paused when he saw them waiting for him, struggling on the zip of the bag, and stood half-way on the staircase as he waited expectantly for someone to speak. "What?'</p>
<p>"Where's that book you took from Vera?" Hamish asked first, realizing that Jack didn't enter with it.</p>
<p>"I left it in the woods with Alyssa," Jack replied. "I found a cloaking spell and set it up so nobody could find her. But I couldn't bring it through the campus in case there were any members of Praxis still around and looking out for it."</p>
<p>"I didn't know that you knew any cloaking spells," Randall frowned.</p>
<p>Jack shrugged. "I don't, but that's a pretty powerful book. You can find almost anything in there."</p>
<p>"Uh-huh," Lilith crossed her arms over her chest, eyes hardening. "And what are you planning to do with it exactly?"</p>
<p>Stunned, Jack looked at Lilith like he had never seen her before, and in a way, he hadn't. He hadn't exactly had the time to rejoice her return, and he hadn't seen her at all since they got her back. He had been thrown from one disaster into the next. He hadn't seen the changes in her yet, hadn't seen what she had become, what her time in hell had turned her into. So, in a way, he really was seeing her for the first time. "I uh," he gulped, trying to swallow down the emotion that had suddenly risen in his throat. "I'm going to fix it."</p>
<p>"What?" Randall demanded, surprising even himself.</p>
<p>"Jack, come on, be reasonable about this," Hamish pleaded. "Alyssa's dead. For once in your life, use sense."</p>
<p>"I don't want to talk about Alyssa," Jack said. His voice was quiet, almost deathly so, but it portrayed the gravity of his words.</p>
<p>But Hamish continued regardless. "You can't just... bring people back to life like that. Necromancy, reanimation, revivification... those are things you just don't do, not even the most skilled members of the Order. Not only is it neigh-impossible, you just shouldn't do it."</p>
<p>"I never said anything about bringing Alyssa back," Jack said, voice hard.</p>
<p>"Then what exactly are you going to 'fix'?" Lilith demanded.</p>
<p>Jack took a slow step down the stairs, his footsteps heavy, almost like they carried all the weight of the world, all of Jack's pain and heartache and anguish in one single step.  He made eye contact with the other Knights, and his eyes were stormy, and Hamish was reminded once again of the rage he held within. "I'm going to get Vera back her magic," he said sharply. He waved an absent hand at Lilith. "I'm going to fix whatever the hell they did to you in hell. And then maybe, maybe, when everything else is said and done and there are no more people or problems to fix, then I'll consider bringing Alyssa back. But I'm not that stupid, Hamish. I know you might think I am sometimes, but I'm really not. I know common sense. We have much bigger problems than that. So I'm going to fix what Alyssa broke because she's not here to do it herself."</p>
<p>"Jack," Randall tried as Jack hurried down the remaining steps and pushed past the group to the front door. "Come on, man, don't go out there tonight. Not like this, you're a wreck! Maybe wait a few days and we'll figure it out together, huh?"</p>
<p>But Jack merely just shook his head. "Thanks, Randall, I appreciate it, but I rather not. I have my phone. I'll keep you updated, OK? I'll call and text you every day."</p>
<p>Resigned, Randall lowered his hand and let Jack get to the door without any more hindrance. "OK," he agreed reluctantly. "Be home soon, OK? I mean it, Jack."</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, Jack didn't answer, because he was already gone.</p>
<p>They sat there, shocked and confused and scared, as Jack disapared again into the woods, swallowed up by the darkness and the looming trees that rose from the ground like fangs. Their wolves prowled and paced and scratched at their chests in barely concealed anxiety as they watched their fellow Knight leave with no certainly of returning. There was nothing they could do, and there was nothing he could do. </p>
<p>"Well," Lilith said, and there was a strange hint of indifference in her words that never would have been there before. "You're fucked. Good luck with that."</p>
<p>She walked up the stairs, not even turning back to glance at them over her shoulder, and she left Hamish and Randall alone in the foyer. Randall sighed, looking between the door Jack disappeared through, Hamish standing too still beside him, and the stairs Lilith climbed. It seemed like everything was falling apart these days. "Don't worry, man," he assured as he placed a hand on Hamish's shoulder. "We'll figure something out. We always do, remember? We're the Knights of Saint Christerpher! We'll be fine."</p>
<p>"I appreciate the support, Randall, I really do," Hamish managed, voice tight and thick as he held back the scream that threatened to build in his throat. "But I don't think that this is going to be something we can just 'fix' so easily as all our other issues. In fact, I'm not convinced that this is something that we can fix at all."</p>
<p>Sighing, Randall ran his hand on Hamish's shoulder down to his arm before reluctantly pulling away. "We'll be alright. We always are," He glanced up to the second floor, and slowly shuffled towards the bottom of the stairs. "I think I'm going to go check on Gabrille, see how she's holding up. Are you going to be aleight here?"</p>
<p>Hamish didn't answer, but Randall was used to that by  now, so he merely sighed again before climig the stars without waiting for an answer that he knew wasn't coming. </p>
<p>Alone, Hamish shuffled to the bar and reached almost desperately for his glass. He brought it to his lips, forgetting for a moment that it was empty, and after a few moments of quiet contempation and existential dread, he hurled the glass with an almight howl and it shattered into a million glistening pieces and scattered in shining diomends across the floor. Nobody came down to check on him, nobody called out to him. Everybody knew that he needed some time to himself before he tore the place apart. </p>
<p>Resigned, Hamish crouched down and began plucking the tiny shards of glass from the floor, hoping that in the morning, there would be no new problems that needed solving, and that the issues that arrose today would somehow have a simple fix. Though he doubted it. Nothing that regarded them was ever simple.</p>
<p>Tundra growled in his chest, and Hamish let him rage, brely holding back the shifting from skin to fur, the sprouting of claws, the pushing of fangs through his gums, but knew that once he finally got a moment to himself, they would run through the woods and give himself a moment to think. </p>
<p>A piece of glass cut his hand. He watched the blood spill, heal over. He wiped it away on his pants and continued.</p>
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